Rick Perry turned out to be the Fred Thompson of 2012. What happened in both cases is that conservatives put all their hopes in each and both bombed leaving conservatives scattering in all directions. In 2008, I knew Thompson would bomb from the moment he made his announcement to Jay Leno and he couldn't even muster a smile. His utter lack of energy while campaigning told me he just wasn't into it. With Perry, he turned out to be a TERRIBLE debater. Also he keeps repeating about his record for business growth in Texas ad nauseum.
So how can we clone Ronald Reagan?
Looking at S.C.... It would appear that Santorum is playing the role of Thompson.